On March 6, sophomore Adrian Pama was awarded a Bronze medal at the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) Tour Newport Beach Open in the Men’s Singles 3.5 Division. Having won four out of six games total, Pama racked up 85 points — the primary metric used to place competitors — throughout the tournament.
Pama began playing pickleball three years ago, introduced to the sport through Oxford’s PE unit. His interest stemmed from encouragement by his father, who also plays pickleball recreationally.
“I gained interest in [pickleball] in PE, in seventh grade,” said Pama. “My teammate told me that I had potential in pickleball. At the time, my dad was also playing pickleball, so he asked if I wanted to play. I’ve been playing ever since.”
Since then, Pama has dedicated himself to consistent practice, training independently for five days a week for around two hours each day. Even without formal coaching, he has developed and refined his techniques over the years.
“I just practice with my friends, and sometimes I just go to the park and practice with random people,” he said. “If I want to learn something new, I watch videos on YouTube.”
The PPA Tour Newport Beach Open was Pama’s first-ever PPA event. Facing a competitor pool dominated by older players, he described his nerves going into the tournament.
“My opponents were mostly grown men. So I was a little intimidated by them because they obviously have more power,” Pama said.
As Pama persevered through these nerves and physical disadvantages, he faced particularly difficult games against older, skilled opponents.
“There was one game where I was down by a lot early on. I thought I was hitting winners, but the opponent kept defending everything and getting my shots back,” said Pama. “It was really frustrating at first.”
Even with the heat and pressure of the moment, however, Pama strategized and pivoted, ultimately securing himself a spot on the podium.
“I was able to adjust. I realized I couldn’t just power through [my opponent], so I had to get more patient and wait for an opportunity,” he said.
Moving forward, Pama hopes to continue competing in local tournaments and improving his skills and techniques, as well as strengthening his mentality.
“I plan to enter another PPA tournament at a higher level,” he said. “But other than that, I just want to get better at pickleball. I want to get better physically and mentally. I want to be in a better mental state and I also want to be physically stronger and run faster.”
Beyond his personal goals, Pama also hopes to see pickleball growing as a sport, especially within the Oxford community.
“Maybe we can have a pickleball team here at Oxford,” said Pama. “We can play it more often in PE, too, or if a team isn’t feasible, we can establish it as a club.”
As pickleball gains popularity as a leisure activity, Pama encourages students to begin playing casually and training independently as he did.
“My advice is to start playing — just start with a group. It’s really fun with friends, or if you can’t play with your friends, you can meet a lot of new people by just going to the park,” said Pama.
